When did Colorado Become Congress?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”

Erica Corder

Erica Corder, a courageous Colorado high school valedictorian has become one of the latest victims of unconstitutional political correctness. Her 2006 reference to Jesus Christ during a 30-second statement at her graduation service prompted her principal to require her to sign a apology as a prerequisite to receiving her diploma.

Here’s what Erica said: “We are all capable of standing firm and expressing our own beliefs, which is why I need to tell you about someone who loves you more than you could ever imagine. He died for you on a cross over 2,000 years ago, yet was resurrected and is living today in heaven. His name is Jesus Christ. If you don’t already know him personally I encourage you to find out more about the sacrifice he made for you so that you now have the opportunity to live in eternity with him.”

Her forced apology was designed to appease the interests of those who might claim to take offense at the mention of Jesus Christ. What an irony that reference to Christ is embedded in the very Constitution Erica is accused of violating:

Article VII concludes that the document was executed in the year of “our Lord” [September 17, 1787] and makes further reference to the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s birth certificate, that contains no less than four references to God!

I thank God for courageous young Americans like Erica who are willing to lend their influence to putting our constitutional cookies on the lowest shelf. Consider that if she had wanted to utter words during her speech that were disparaging of the God-in-whom-we-say-we-trust, the ACLU would no doubt have jumped to Erica’s defense. What difference should it make – in terms of the free speech clause – that Erica wanted to say something complimentary about her Savior?

If we don’t want our beloved Constitution’s text to become merely an inkblot for further misguided interpretations of federal judges, it is imperative that Americans – young and old – stand up for their free speech rights. As Harvard Law Professor Alan Dersowitz put it, “the right to swing your fist should end at the tip of my nose, but your right to express your ideas should not necessarily end at the lobes of my ears.”